Using caravan facilities

[Beehpee]

Morning all, 2 weeks into our 3 week holiday and it’s been fantastic, toilet and showering facilities onsite are fully open with restrictions such as number of people in there etc but the system works perfectly, so my reason for this post is, we chose to not use site facilities and have now converted to the dark side of caravanning and now use onboard shower and toilet facilities fully and we have no intention to ever use site facilities again as there’s just no need, so I’ve now tried Aldi blue, blue diamond blue, thetford blue and todays additive is a local dealer to where I live called venture caravans and trying out there own brand, not one of those tried so far has been satisfactory for breaking down the contents much so it would be nice to get advice/recommendation from anyone, what is people’s thoughts on the sodium percarbonate that was mentioned recently, I empty the cassette daily so quick results would be nice, on the good side, I was always anti showering and toilet use but now planning to buy a van next spring with 4 different items that are important in the layout one of which is the bathroom/shower facilities.

BP

 

[Beachball]

Some sites have not got the toilet /shower block open but our caravan has a end washroom so there is no problem for us to use our facilities .
What caravan are you looking at next ?
Hope you enjoying your break
Take Care Keep Safe

 

[RogerL]

If your cassette is emptied daily, you need the perfume more than the ability to break down the contents as that takes time.

 

[Buckman]

Morning all, 2 weeks into our 3 week holiday and it’s been fantastic, toilet and showering facilities onsite are fully open with restrictions such as number of people in there etc but the system works perfectly, so my reason for this post is, we chose to not use site facilities and have now converted to the dark side of caravanning and now use onboard shower and toilet facilities fully and we have no intention to ever use site facilities again as there’s just no need, so I’ve now tried Aldi blue, blue diamond blue, thetford blue and todays additive is a local dealer to where I live called venture caravans and trying out there own brand, not one of those tried so far has been satisfactory for breaking down the contents much so it would be nice to get advice/recommendation from anyone, what is people’s thoughts on the sodium percarbonate that was mentioned recently, I empty the cassette daily so quick results would be nice, on the good side, I was always anti showering and toilet use but now planning to buy a van next spring with 4 different items that are important in the layout one of which is the bathroom/shower facilities.

BP

See my suggestion https://forums.practicalcaravan.com/threads/using-sodium-percarbonate-in-toilet.61145/#post-494853

 

[Gabsgrandad]

I'm not sure that 'any' available chemicals 'break' down any deposits, after 44 years vanning and all of those years have used the van facilities for all those years on CLs, rallies, even on sites with full facilities we and the kids always used the van facilities. Have tried every 'chemical' available. But always revert to Aquachem blue, but I have never found one that breaks down anything but what you are looking for is the most effective 'masking' of the 'bye products' of caravanning! -- happy emptying!

 

[Mel]

Elsan blue or green ( depending on site requirements). Don’t worry about degree of breakdown, as long as everything comes out of the pipe . No “fishy” whiffs with Elsan.
mel

 

[DaveA1]

Over the years have used most of the chemicals available, always revert back to Elsan Blue.
Emptying everyday will not give it a chance to break down. twice a week is enough. Mind you we are generally away from the van most of the time.

 

[otherclive]

We are at Morn Hill CMHC and so far have used our own facilities albeit the shower in the van is fairly basic but water pressure and flow is now ace.
The site facilities are open and deep cleaned twice a day. Male and female have both been made unisex. And you can go in with your own group as a “ support bubble” locking the door behind you and a engaged sign shows those outside that it is in use. Overall there seems to bemore people using their own units facilities.

But it’s so nice to be away.

 

[bertieboy1]

Elsan blue or green ( depending on site requirements). Don’t worry about degree of breakdown, as long as everything comes out of the pipe . No “fishy” whiffs with Elsan.
mel

Hello,
I could be wrong about this, but I thought the blue and green toilet additives preserved rather than "broke down" material.

 

[Raywood]

We just buy whatever is going when we need it. Current one is an own brand one bought from Leeds Caravan Centre as we passed when away. Frankly we have never noticed any difference in any of them, nor have we had a problem with a smelly toilet.

 

[otherclive]

Hello,
I could be wrong about this, but I thought the blue and green toilet additives preserved rather than "broke down" material.

Why would you want to preserve it? Anyway I agree with the above posts in that emptying regularly is best with a good wash out and rinse. I’ve never found a fluid that breaks it down.

 

[JezzerB]

We got sick of the Elsan Thetford chemical toilet smell and accidentally hit on Camperlife ( camperlife.uk ) and their fluid-they do 12 different scents-we tried forest fruits ithink it is first and it is absloutely amazing-it has its own dosing container and if you buy 2 or more free postage and the single dose is perfectly good for us. No more Elsan type smell-hello fragrance. When this one is finished I now have Bubble gum and a vanilla in the garage waiting to be tried! I have no axe to grind or am not involved in sales of anything so this is a purely subjective review but we won't be going back to any of the standard fluids while this stuff is available! We may settle on one scent or we may keep it fresh-no pun intended and vary it a bit! Keep you posted!

 

[RogerL]

Why would you want to preserve it? Anyway I agree with the above posts in that emptying regularly is best with a good wash out and rinse. I’ve never found a fluid that breaks it down.

Why? It's the decomposition of the solids that creates the odour - that's why the combination of formaldehyde and strong perfume was used in the original toilet fluids.

 

[JezzerB]

Help-we are now discussing whether loo fluid causes a break down of matter or simply masks the pong/ kills off germs-if we get to the nitty gritty of the matter(!!!) then I don't really care about break down-as long as it masks the niffy whiffy! But from a lot of experience it depends on size and consistency, how long it has been in there and how much joggling it experiences on the way to the empty point-nuff said, nuff detail-gone too far-probably!

 

[Gabsgrandad]

Bertieboy said -- "I could be wrong about this, but I thought the blue and green toilet additives preserved rather than "broke down" material. " ----- I agree with him entirely, all you do is 'pickle' it!

 

[Hutch]

Elsan double blue , every time, as the boss says it doesnt smell. I will look at that Scented one and see If i can slip it in, although the boss tells me to use freshener anyway. If youcan smell it renew the seals.

 

[Beehpee]

Cheers all, I am not bothered about smells of the blue or anything else, for the first time on this holiday I’ve put Aldi pink flush additive and masks any odours completely and smells pleasant enough, I did wonder if it was too soon to expect it to get rid of solids in 24 hours but I’m more than happy to put up with the inconvenience of emptying it, there’s nothing better than sitting on your own Lavvy knowing it’s spotlessly clean, I might buy a bag of the sodium percarbonate as it’s really cheap and give it a try.

BP

 

[Beehpee]

just out of interest our pitch is fully serviced which is a blessing and as well as a drain for grey waste water we have a 2nd drain for emptying the cassette, I chose not to even try using it as you would need to be pretty accurate as any mishaps would probably linger in the grass, also a humorous point, when my brother in law went to empty his cassette a woman had a bowl in the bottom of the waste tank and was bent double to reach the bottom where the bowl was which was where she was washing clothes.

BP

 

[Tuningdrew]

Aldi bio (clothes) washing liquid. A good glug each time you prepare it. Daily emptying is a bit excessive.

 

[Beehpee]

BB I’m looking at a Bailey Rimini, ticks all the boxes of what we have listed as things we would like, 2 single beds, full size fridge, decent shower and toilet facilities so as never have to use site facilities again and a cupboard/table at the front by the big window so our Shitzu can sit and watch the world go by, I’ve seen a 2017 but not intending to buy until the spring as it would spend most of the time from now until spring in storage.

BP

 

[Raywood]

Spring can be a bad time to buy normally as that is when people are looking for caravans and sales and prices tend to be higher. October and November are probably the best time when sales are low and dealers want to clear space for next years models. Assumong you are not paying for storage there could be a saving to be had.

 

[Buckman]

We got sick of the Elsan Thetford chemical toilet smell and accidentally hit on Camperlife ( camperlife.uk ) and their fluid-they do 12 different scents-we tried forest fruits ithink it is first and it is absloutely amazing-it has its own dosing container and if you buy 2 or more free postage and the single dose is perfectly good for us. No more Elsan type smell-hello fragrance. When this one is finished I now have Bubble gum and a vanilla in the garage waiting to be tried! I have no axe to grind or am not involved in sales of anything so this is a purely subjective review but we won't be going back to any of the standard fluids while this stuff is available! We may settle on one scent or we may keep it fresh-no pun intended and vary it a bit! Keep you posted!

We use this stuff to keep down smells. One drop is all you need. See HERE.

 

[Beachball]

BB I’m looking at a Bailey Rimini, ticks all the boxes of what we have listed as things we would like, 2 single beds, full size fridge, decent shower and toilet facilities so as never have to use site facilities again and a cupboard/table at the front by the big window so our Shitzu can sit and watch the world go by, I’ve seen a 2017 but not intending to buy until the spring as it would spend most of the time from now until spring in storage.

BP

Hi Nice caravan i would not buy until April just after the winter period Enjoy

 

[Beachball]

Blue Diamond Twin Pack
Toilet Fluid and Bowl Cleaner 2L

 

[Harby]

We always (where possible) use the caravan facilities, especially given the Covid situation. Mr H empties the toilet daily (in our family it's a man job!), and we've started using the little toilet tablets rather than liquid - saves a bit of weight on the outbound journey and he prefers to just chuck in a tablet and a bit of water rather than pouring in the blue/green liquid.